The night was ink-black, moonless, as if the sky itself was holding its breath before the coming storm. The streets of Seoul, usually vibrant with nightlife, seemed strangely silent and empty on their way to Gwanghui-dong Station. Each step resounded too loudly in the silence, each breath formed a small white cloud in the icy air.
Do-hyun was advancing in the lead, his [Vampire Sense] activated at a minimum, like a discreet sonar that swept through the darkness in front of them. He felt the scarlet presences, many and distant, concentrated around the station. A real army waiting.
"Multiple contact," he whispered in his earpiece. "About thirty signatures. Mainly levels 2 and 3. Some levels 4. And the big one, level 6, is stationary near the main entrance."
"Confirmed," Min-ho's calm voice answered in the earpiece. He was in position on a nearby roof, his sniper rifle equipped with a thermal viewfinder pointed at the area. Three checkpoints. The Elder is in the center, surrounded by four guards."
Soo-ah, who was walking behind Do-hyun, adjusted the grip on his spear. "The driver is fifty meters to our right. They didn't spot it."
The plan was simple, almost hopelessly simple: infiltrate through the forgotten ventilation duct that Min-ho had mapped, descend to level -3, then attempt to wreak havoc long enough to assess their strength and hopefully create an opening to hit the Elder.
They reached the entrance of the conduit, hidden behind a pile of brambles and trash in an adjacent alley. Min-ho had already unlocked the rusty grid from the outside.
"I'm covering your back," his voice announced in their earbuds. "You have a thirty-second window once inside before their next patrol passes."
Do-hyun cast one last glance around him, then rushed first into the narrow, black opening. Soo-ah followed him, silently closing the gate behind her.
The inside of the duct was a tunnel of sheet metal and dust, so narrow that they had to crawl. The air was stale, loaded with a smell of musty and cold metal. The only sound was the rubbing of their clothes against the walls and the hoarse breath of their breaths.
[VAMPIRE SENSE: CONCENTRATE ACTIVITY BELOW.]
[Estimate: 15-20 entities on level -3.]
[The ANCIENT IS ALWAYS LEVEL -1.]
They crawled for what seemed like an eternity, gradually descending according to Min-ho's instructions. The tension was palpable, each Do-hyun muscle tense, stretched like a bow. He felt Ji-eun's bracelet squeeze his wrist, a fragile reminder of what awaited him on the surface.
Finally, a faint gray glow filtered out in front of them. The exit from the duct led into an abandoned technical room on level -3, filled with old crates and rusty pipes.
Do-hyun stopped at the orifice, scanning the room with all his senses. Nothing. No immediate presence.
"We're in it," he whispered.
They came out of the conduit, stretching their sore limbs. The room was plunged into a darkness barely pierced by the emergency light of an adjacent corridor. The air was even colder here, and a strange sense of energetic oppression weighed on them. The Heart of the Phoenix, though hidden and inactive, was being felt.
[ENERGY ANOMALY DETECTED: STRONG, CYCLIC, REST PHASE.]
[Source: LEVEL -4. ACCESS blocked.]
"Okay, phase two," murmured Soo-ah, assembling his spear with precise and silent gestures. Min-ho, do you see anything?"
"Negative. Your signals are stable. Vampires move in predictable patterns. You may have a ten-minute window before a patrol passes near your position."
Do-hyun inspected the room. Only one door led outside. Perfect for an ambush, but also for getting trapped.
"We're not going to wait here," he decided. "We're going to meet them. We are reducing their workforce discreetly. One by one."
Soo-ah nodded, with a dangerous smile on his lips. "I take the left. You on the right. We meet at the meeting point B."
They separated, two shadows sliding through the deserted corridors of the abandoned station. Do-hyun advanced, his body tense, each sense alert. The sound of his footsteps was absorbed by the dust and detritus that littered the ground.
He turned around the corner of a corridor and saw them. Two vampires, level 2, chatting in low voices, their scarlet auras pulsating lazily in the dark. They were monitoring access to the lower levels.
No time to think. No time to hesitate.
Do-hyun channeled his energy, not for the Blade of Light, but for an ability he had barely practiced: [Shard Projection]. A simple, blinding, brief, silent pulse of light.
The light exploded in the dark corridor. The two vampires screamed, their ultra-sensitive eyes burned by the sudden intensity. Before they could recover, Do-hyun was on them.
His Blade of Light appeared in his right hand, and in a fluid and precise motion, he sliced. One, two. No noise, except for the characteristic whistle of the blade and the muffled sound of the bodies collapsing, disintegrating into scarlet dust.
[2 Level 2 VAMPIRES ELIMINATED.]
[EXP +20.]
He caught his breath, his heart beating. It was clean. Effective. But he knew it wouldn't last.
He continued his advance, eliminating two other isolated vampires with the same method. Each time, the System's silent alert confirmed the elimination. But each time, the failure of these patrols to return would eventually be noticed.
"I neutralized four," he whispered into his microphone.
"Me three," Soo-ah answered, his voice slightly out of breath. "They begin to distrust each other. The movements are accelerating."
Min-ho's voice rang out, more urgently. "Watch out. The Elder is moving. He's coming down. He felt something. He's heading to level -3 with his guards."
The time for discretion was over.
"Meeting point B, now!" ordered Do-hyun.
They converged on a larger, old engine room with room for maneuvering and several exits. It was the place they had chosen to face, if necessary.
They had just entered it when the heavy metal door at the other end of the room was thrown from its hinges with monstrous force, hitting the wall with a thunderous sound.
The Elder of the Purple Dawn Clan was there.
He was even bigger in real life. Tall, broad-shouldered, his dark coat floating around him like a crow's wing. His face was angular, pale, his eyes so red that they looked black. An aura of overwhelming power emanated from him, scarlet and menacing, almost bending Do-hyun under pressure.
[Target: FOREVER Dawn CLAN - Level 6]
[THEW: CATASTROPHIC]
[COMBAT estimation: DEFAST OF ONE at 99.8%]
[RECOMMINDATION: IMMEDIATE FLEY.]
Four guards, all level 4, stood behind him, their murderous eyes fixed on Do-hyun and Soo-ah.
The Elder looked around the room, his disdainful expression.
"The Phoenix," he said, his deep, cavernous voice echoing strangely in the room. "I expected more... stature. You came to offer us your inheritance?"
Do-hyun felt fear chill his veins, but he pushed her back, turning her into cold anger. He made his Blade of Light appear, his golden glow seeming tiny in the face of the darkness of the Ancient One.
"I've come to remind you that Seoul is not your hunting ground."
The Elder laughed, a sound that chilled the blood.
"Presumptuous child. You killed Kael, one of our best hunters. But Kael was a soldier. I'm a lord. You don't yet understand the gap between us."
He made a careless wave of his hand." Kill the Bloodline user. I take care of the Phoenix personally."
The four guards rushed to Soo-ah. She put herself in position, her spear describing a defensive arc, ready to face the deluge.
The Elder, on the other hand, was content to walk towards Do-hyun, without haste, as if he were walking in his garden.
Do-hyun raised his blade. The System frantically projected patterns of attack, dodge, counter. All with a probability of success of less than 1%.
He had no choice. He had to fight.
He charged, using all his speed, his blade aimed at the heart of the Elder.
The vampire simply raised two fingers and caught the blade in flight.
Do-hyun felt the impact as if he had hit a mountain. The energy of his blade dissipated in a sizzle, unable to bite. The Elder had not even stumbled.
"Pathetic," he whispered.
Moving too fast for the eye to follow, he threw his fist at Do-hyun's chest.
The shock was excruciating. Do-hyun was thrown back like a rag doll, crossing the room to crash into an old generator. The pain exploded in his chest. He distinctly heard a crackling sound.
[Serious injury received!]
[Fractured coasts.]
[PV: 35/80]
[Traumatic Chest.]
He collapsed to the ground, coughing, a taste of blood in his mouth. Through a blurred vision, he saw Soo-ah fighting valiantly against the four guards, but she was on the defensive, stepping backwards step by step.
The Elder approached again, his boots hitting the ground with menacing slowness.
"Where is the Heart, child? Where did your parents hide it? Tell me, and I promise you a quick death."
Do-hyun raised his head, a net of blood flowing from his lip. He smiled, a grin of defiance.
"Go and make yourself seen."
Anger distorted the Elder's face. "Insolent!"
He raised his hand, his fingers turning into sharp claws, ready to cut.
It was at that moment that everything changed.
A voice, calm and mechanical, resounded throughout the room, coming from everywhere at once.
"The balance is disturbed. Intervention is required."
The Guardian.
The Elder froze, his sharp, sharp eyes suddenly sweeping the room with a distrust he had not shown before.
"You..." he scolded.
A burst of bluish, cold light filled the room. It was not the golden heat of the Phoenix, but a stellar, impersonal, immense light.
When the light dissipated, a silhouette stood in the center of the room. No human characteristics were discernible. It was a humanoid form made of blue light and moving shadow, faceless, expressionless.
The Guardian.
"The Phoenix artifact must not fall into your hands, Elder," said the neutral voice. "Its premature activation by your clan would create unacceptable dimensional instability."
The Elder stepped back, a primitive fear in his red eyes. "This is none of your business, Guardian! This world is ours!"
This world is under surveillance. You've crossed the line."
The Guardian raised a hand. No aggressive gesture, just a simple movement.
The Elder screamed, not in physical pain, but in sheer terror. He began to tremble, his scarlet aura flickering like a candle in the wind.
"No! Not exile!"
Before Do-hyun could understand what was happening, the Elder and his four guards began to dissolve, not into dust, but into particles of light that were sucked into the Guardian, like dust in a cosmic vacuum cleaner. Within seconds, they had disappeared, without a sound.
The silence fell, heavier and more disturbing than all the din of the fight.
The Guardian turned to Do-hyun, who was still standing, staggering, leaning against the generator.
"Your intervention forced mine. You've disrupted the calendar."
Do-hyun, panting, managed to speak. "They... they were going to kill me."
Death is an acceptable variable in the equation. The loss of the artifact is not."
The Guardian turned to Soo-ah, who was staring at the scene, stunned, his spear still reflexively raised.
"The artifact must be secured. The full moon window is compromised. Its location needs to be changed."
"What are you going to do with it?" asked Do-hyun, trying to straighten himself up.
That's not your concern. For now. Keep developing. Prove that you are more than an erratic variable. We'll see each other again."
With these words, the Guardian faded, disappearing in the same silent and impossible way that he had appeared.
The room was empty, apart from Do-hyun and Soo-ah, the marks of their struggle, and the deafening silence left by the disappearance of their enemies.
They had just survived an encounter that should have been fatal to them. But they had also just lost their target, and the Phoenix Heart was now out of reach, displaced by an entity whose motives and powers they did not understand.
The battle was won. But the war had just become infinitely more complex.